A Legal-Sociological Analysis Of Intimacy

This paper attempts to discuss the relationship between personal intimacy and the state legal system. Focusing on the issue of "relationships," it posits that relation is a kind of frequent contacts among human beings in social activities. It further states that intimacy is, by instinct, a relationship of "feeling" among human beings. This paper thus explores the following properties of intimacy: spontaneous feeling, privacy and self-governance. All these properties are innate characteristics of intimacy; moreover, they determine the complicated relations between intimacy and a legal system. Based on the analysis of the properties of intimacy, this paper points out that the ultimate difference between intimate groups and other social groups, especially stranger groups, derives from the difference between the basis of trust and its applicable principles; in specific, the trust of intimacy is established on the basis of sensation, and its applicable principle is altruism. The conflict between state law system and intimacy in reality is ascribed to our disrespect of their fundamental differences and neglect of their different fields. In detail, this conflict is manifest in the fact that the over-control of state law over intimacy will, to a certain extent, destroy intimacy; whiie intimacy will, in return, dismantle state law system by virtue of sensation. In the end, it gives rise to an internecine in-fighting. In this sense, we must manipulate between the two parties: firstly, state law should respect intimacy, and it must be based on humanity and feeling; secondly, well-organized self-governance of personal intimacy needs the help of state law; thirdly, we should distinguish public intimacy from private intimacy so far as field is concerned. By means of the above-mentioned manipulation, a sound performance of legitimacy could be obtained.